The Perfect Grill-O

As the evening sun was setting low, my hunger was slowly building up. I looked at my watch and sadly I had an hour more for the shift to end. Today was one of those rare days when I missed bringing some food to much at the office. And as I had recently moved to a new apartment, just two days back, finding stuffs in the morning before rushing to office was also tiring for me.

So, not knowing what to do and sitting idle would rather increase my hunger, I decided to shift my focus onto the World Wide Web. Going through few financial news on the Economic Times website, I checked my watch again, hoping that time would have moved on, but just five minutes had passed by.

“Oh God, not today” was the thought running in my mind.

With every minute passing by the rumbling sound of my stomach was pitching up. I somehow tried to convince my stomach by saying to myself that, “Calm down, no hurry please. We shall be at the restaurant very soon.”

So, with this same excuse I somehow managed to get rid of the next one hour and was on my way to home. Usually on days when my shift is until 2100 hours, I take my food outside, since it would become very late if I go home and prepare the dinner.

As I was walking through the lake side, my attention caught sight of a small eatery at one corner of a big building and I proceeded towards it. I had never been to it before and so the curiosity naturally drove me towards it. Approaching the café, I remembered couple of people from the locality talking great about the place. Not once or twice but I have heard the café’s name a lot many times. Now that I am actually heading to it built up my expectation tenfold.

The Tea Break café was a small, tastefully decorated and less crampy hangout spot, positioned well away from the eyes of the public. Only to those people who had a hang of this place, visited it often and they were the ones who marketed it out to the unknown rest.

By the time I entered it, the place was totally empty and the guy at the billing desk welcomed me with a broad smile and a “Hello”. I figured out instantly with his accent that he was a Malabari (term used in Dubai to refer a person from Kerala). As I was tired of conversing in Malayalam at the office, I held myself this time and conversed in English with him. Their Menu was limited but the options were wide and the list of ingredients used with each was something new and unique. Never had I seen the mixed usage of such items, however they sounded flavorsome.

I made my order for an Egg Mushroom Semi Club sandwich with a small cup of Zafran Kadak Chai (Saffron Masala Tea). While waiting for the order, my eyes scanned the place and it felt refreshing to be in there. I had always wanted to open a café and the interiors of this place gave me ideas on how to make it appealing to the customers.

And before my stomach could make any further rumbles, the order arrived at the table. Though it was a simple order, the culinary presentation was awe-inspiring. I took the first bite, it was really hot and my tongue took the burnt. However, within minutes I suddenly felt the blend of soft mushrooms, egg and cheese melting in my mouth. I could not explain my feeling as it was beyond words. The ingredients were well cooked and grilled to perfection. And munching it with a hot sip of Zafran Kadak chai elevated the taste.

With a satisfied heart and soul, of course stomach as well, I complimented the chef and made my way out of the place. Walking back to my apartment, the taste of the sandwich that was still hovering in my mind, made me believe that offering good food can attract a great foot fall, irrespective of how big or small your space is.

Time Flies by!

Dubai, the land of dreams, has never failed to live up to its name. It is one city wherein you find people from all walks of life. Be it the tourists, who fly in to experience the grandeur of this desert nation or be it the white-collar employees, charting out big dreams for their life, or be it the blue collar employees, in the hope of earning some extra cash (in Dirhams) to support their families, back home. So, everyone whom you meet in this city will have a long story, left behind.

And so is one such story, the story of a young teenager, traveling all the way from India into a foreign country for the first time in his life. Never did he expect that even his passport will be stamped one fine day. Every single event that made his journey to Dubai was totally unplanned. What started off as a commitment to keep his relationship intact, ended up losing both the girl he loved and the anticipated B-School of his choice. But, his parents had always believed in him and they had always trusted his moves. It was they who suggested him to fly to Dubai, even though it meant burning their pockets heavily. But, they did not worry about it, as all that they wished was for him to have a new life, a better life, away from home, away from the losses that he suffered, and away from everything.

Classes went on well and so was his urge to learn. Over the past twenty-five years, it was here wherein the urge to study & learn more hit him like a thunder. Of course, he did it pretty well in comparison to the whole batch. And in the company some great people, his life was progressing fine. Days went by, weeks passed on and years flew by, and suddenly today he is still in Dubai, but not as a student anymore. A nice job at a multinational firm has made his schedule busy and engaged. He did understand that the next phase of his life has begun and it was the time for him to move out of the place, which hosted him for two long years; (i.e.) the college hostel.

No more late night studies, assignments, exams, chatting, fighting, gaming, late night walks and finally, preparing spicy Maggi in the middle of the night to feed the starving stomach. When he recollects those memories, a small smile pops up at the end of his lip. And at the same time thinking that there won’t be any more such moments to cherish upon does make him emotional. It is time for him to step out of academic city perimeter and relocate into some cozy neighborhood.

“It feels like yesterday when I first entered Dubai and now I don’t even remember how each day went by”. Time just swept me off my feet and I don’t know how further it will take me, is what dwells in his mind.

Those small moments, well enough to steer your life forward

With the series of unexpected death in the recent past (Sri Devi and other few Bollywood stars), it is evident that life is unpredictable. And in such a case what is the point of charting out your long-term plans, when you are unsure if you will be alive the next morning.

You may think that I am being pessimistic, but I would call it being “realistic”. Expectation and reality never come together and so I believe that it is better to stay alive and enjoy the very moment of the reality rather than living in the world of expectations. Who knows, if you or I will even get a second chance to live the moment?

And so was one such moment of reality that I shall cherish for the rest of my life. Though I am the only one who knows the true reason for seeking an admission with Institute of Management Technology Dubai, I adapted well early to this place and with my batchmates too. I started liking the place and made it work for me in the way I preferred. Though there were too many cases of back-stabbing and bitching about one another, nothing much happened with me or to me, as I was being fair with everyone (except for a set of students from a region). So, over the two years of MBA, life was pretty good with too many moments to cherish about.

One such incident that will remain close to my heart was this year’s birthday celebration that was planned by my close ones. To be honest, I, after a certain point in my life, felt no interest towards celebrating birthdays. But this birthday was so special, only because of them. I owe a million thanks to my besties (Boss, Rishab, Shivani, Sayani). You made the day and you also made me feel the importance of holding on to certain relationships.

So, a big thank you, to each one of you, who planned and executed it very well. I wish many more such happy moments in all our lives and hopefully, we shall all stay connected over an extended period.

Birth of a new Salesman

Dubai, the dream destination for many travelers became a home to me, not before I chose to pursue my higher studies here. But right from the day I stepped in on this miracle land, where anything could rise out of the sand and touching the sky, money was concurrently out flowing from me. Ten months already flew with no opportunity to find a way of sourcing cash inflow. Too many pleas, requests and false guarantee of the close circle went useless, all through these months.

Finally came in an opportunity via a man whom I had always trusted (so far he hasn’t broken it). It was a four day assignment with Videocon mobile on a festival promotion activity. The company had come up with new range of mobiles and they were looking out for promoters for the same. I grabbed the opportunity and was offered a store in the farthest of the location, Al Quoz. Though it is considered to be a close proximity to the main business center of the New Dubai, yet it was far from IMT. A solid two hour travel will take me to this highly populated labor camp, mostly filled with Indians and Pakistanis.

There was no hesitation from my end, as I considered this as an opportunity to explore the beautiful city. Actually speaking, these locality project the other set of Dubai population, the working and labor class, who equally contribute to the economic fluctuations of the nation and less exposed on the media.

Occupied with mile long warehouses and labor camps on either side of the road, the way to my destination was entirely different than what I had witnessed with the other half of Dubai. The hypermarket was positioned in a prime location and with heavy footfall, throughout the day. To assist me at the store was a wonderful person, who could not be matched with anyone I had met at Dubai, so far. He was so supportive and encouraging, though knowing that this was my first attempt with sales. His encouragement and strong belief raised my spirit and together made us achieve a huge target sale of 71 mobiles, over the four day period. It was even the highest number achieved across locations, where similar promotion was happening.

Till that day I never realized that I could convince someone so well to take up a product, amidst heavy competition from competitor brands. And adding to my credit was the use of language. I had to keep switching my language between Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English spontaneously, as people of different region visited the stall one at a time. Speaking fluently without stammering and conveying the information in a short span of time, it was such a daunting task, which was eventually done with ease.

In total, I would have spent close to 28 hours at the store, but the number of people who became my friends were innumerable. The store staffs were too friendly and the best part of this whole new experience was sharing the Iftar dinner with them. Never in my life had I ever witnessed such a mass dinner. Though the food was light, it was delicious and enjoyable when sharing it with everyone around you. I realized the real sense of togetherness and the motive of Ramadan, then. Over and all, I would say these four days to be highly productive days of my life.

Though on one side I feel happy about my new capability, on the other side I feel sad for making 71 people purchase a product, which I myself am pretty sure will not last longer. A kind of guilt crept within me as every single time when a mobile gets sold, since these people are not those few who purchase it for a passion. But, these are people who hesitate and think hundred times before investing their hard earned money on a product, which will not reap value, as it is conversely claimed to be.

God save them!

And thank you almighty for bringing out the “Salesman” out of me.